Vehicle-wheel.



O.- SCHALLER.

VEHICLE WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED mm 26. 1913.

Patented July 28, 1914.

3 SHEETSSHBET 1.

11V I'ENTOR. Oscar cizaller B Y r A TTORNE Y.

0. SGHALLER.

VEHICLE WHEEL. APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 26, 1913.

Patented July 28, 1914.

3 SHEETS-$111111! 2.

WITNESSES.-

A TTORNEY.

0. SGHALLER.

VEHICLE WHEEL. APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 26, 1913.

3 SHEETSBHEET 3.

Patented July 28, 1914.

I NVEN TOR. 05cm" Saba/Zer- (2.2%, A TTORNE Y.

WI THE S SE S 1 STATES PATENT OFFICE.

osorm scHs En, or wmas'rnn (moves, issour being 10.

To all. whom it may concern citizen of the United States, residing at Webster Groves, in the county of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vehicle-Wheels, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

My invention hasggrelation to improvements in vehicle-wheels; and it consists in the novel details of construction more fully set forth in the specification and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a combined central cross-section and part edge elevation of a vehicle wheel showing one form of my invention; Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional detail taken through the inflatable tube, the.channel ring in which the same is deposited, and the flange of the inner disk supporting said ring; Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional detail on the line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a combined cross-sectional detail and part elevation on thezig-zag line 44 of Fig. 1;..Fig. 5 is an inner face view of one-halfv of the wheel, "parts being removed; Fig. 6 is an outer face view of one-half of the wheel, parts being removed; Fig. 7 is an inner face view of the portion of the channel ring (carrying the inflatable tube) at a point opposite the dogactuated shock-absorbing blocks; Fig. 8 is a sectional detail on the order of the bottom portion of Fig. l, showing the inflatabletube under considerable compression; Fig. 9 is a view similar to the bottom portion of Fig. 1 showing a modified form of resilient member; Fig. 10 is a view similar to the sectional detail at the middle of Fig. 1 show i a modified form of flexible joint; and Fig. 11 is a cross-section on the line 11-11 v ofFig. 1e.

The object of, my invention is to construct a vehicle wheel provided- (in one of its forms) with an inflatable tire-tube so positioned relatively to the tread of the wheel and so protected asto entirely escape the danger of puncture by. sharp objectsrencountered by the wheel as it rolls. over the ground; Ionewhich will absorb to the great- 'est advantage theshocks incident to the travelof-the vehicle and this. give to'the occupants of the vehicle agreater amount of comfort; "one responsive: Q-to impacts Specification of Letters latent. Application filed Ipne 26, 19.18. Serial 110.775,!)33.

against objects encountered on the road and yielding in such a way as not to shake the occupants; one which rides easy andwitha minimum amount of friction; one, which is dust proof; one susceptible of various, modifications' and one possessing further and other a vantages better apparent from a detailed description of the invention which is as follows Referrin to the drawings, and for the present to igs. 1 to 8 inclusive, A represents the driven axle or shaft of the wheel, to the terminal spindle a whereof the wheel is rigidly secured, a clamping nut 12, being passed over the endof the spindle as well understood in the art, the said spindle being passedi through the central hollow cylindrical boss 1 forming an integral part of the body port on or main plate 2 of the.

wheel, said member 2 being in the form of a dish, and being provided with an offset h .ro ect1ng inwardly, said offset having ormed integrally therewith a marginal flange 2. To the inner face of the disk is 'bolted or otherwise secured a flan d aniuu lar cover plate 3 conformable to t e depression 03 formed by the offset. 1:. with the portion 2,. the inner edge of the plate 3 bearing against an annular rib 4 cast with the plate i 2. Deposited on the outer face of the flange 2 and surrounding the offset or wall it is a flanged channel ring 5, the cross-section of the channel being dish or basin-shaped and.

Patented July28, 1914..

somewhat less than a semi-circle. in depth.

(Figs. 1, 2),.said basin affording a proper contour for the reception and support of the inner peripheral walls of the inflatable tire-tube T which latter is constructed by any of the approved methods known to the art. The outer portions of the prei heral. walls of the tube T are-protected an si ip ported by the annular channel ring or casing.

6, whqse walls overlap exteriorly the'wall's' v of the ring 5 (Figs. 1, the outer over lapping portions being secured if desired to the ring 5 by screws 8. The tube T is provided with the usual check valve V through which it may be inflated, as well understood in the art, the valve being passed through the walls of the ring 6 and through the outer cover late 7form1ng'a component partofthe wheel and which willpresently be again referred to. It may he stated in passing that the ainvalve. V

e asses through aaching ifle 8 n -emer P r. 7 to prevent the escape of the lubricant oroil gener'allypresent in flange and dust plate.

the chamber of the cover plate for lubricating the necessary parts within as presently to be made quite obvious. The projecting end or screw-cap 9 of the valve is protected by a flexible leather or equivalent flap 10 secured to the member 7 'The plate 7 is provided with a marginal flange 7 through which the same is bolted to the web portion of the ring 11 forming the immediate support for the outer tire or tread member T of the wheel, the said member T being held to the outer flange 11' of the ring 11 by clamping rings 12, 12,'or,any equivalent mechanical manner. For convenience, the flanged disk 2 may be considered as the inner relatively stationaryvor fixed section of the wheel, the flanged members 7, 11 jointly constituting the outer yielding section, the two sections rotating as a unit in the operation of the wheel. The members 5, 6, which virtually 'incase the tube T may be said to be supported by the fixed section of the wheel.

Screwed over the boss 1 and bearing against the disk 2, and held tightly in place by set screws 13, is a socket or cup 14, in the bottom of which is formed a square opening 0 bounded by plane faces m, m, converging inwardly from opposite directions and intersecting in straight knifeedges e disposed in a central plane between the opposite faces of the bottom of the socket. In this opening loosely fits the square shank of a link 15, between which and the end of the boss 1 .is interposed (within the chamber of the cup) an antirattling spring 16 which surrounds the nut n. The outer end of the link 15 terminates in a head having-a square portion 15 which snugly enters the square-socket" of a substantially square head 17 having a partly spherical base which is inturn loosely received by a socket t (conformable to said head) formed in the central raised portion or crown of the plate 7, the rounded character of the peripheral walls of the head 17 permitting the axis of the link 15 to oscillate out of alinement with the axis of the wheel with any upward movement (in a plane across said axis), of the yielding section of the wheel due to compression of the tube T.

' Between the members 6 and 7 are interposed her 6.

' I at intervals ball-bearings b to allow for ready play of the member'7 over the mem- When the parts described above are assembled, an annular" space or openin S is left between the outer edge of the ange 2' and the inner edge of the ring 11, sald spacebeing' covered'by an annular dust plate 18 secured to the ring-11 but free to play over the inner face of the flange 2,

\ a .suitable"packing ring? of leather, felt {or the like being interposed between said Disposed at inter- Vals on the outer face of the flange 2 are pockets P open on the side facing the ring 5, and likewise open tothe annular space S. In practice four such pockets are sufficient. In each pocket is deposited a dog 19 having a side view substantially as shown in Fig. 1, the inner end of the dog terminating in a fulcrum edge 6 bearing on a fulcrum ledge 1) forward for this specific purpose on the ring 5. The outer face of the dog is plane and engages in turn a movable block or shock absorber 20 fitting loosely in an enveloping hollow block 20 which in turn operates loosely in an opening formed for its reception in the ring 5, the outer faces of the blocks being contoured to correspond with the contour of the channel of'the ring 5, and permanently bearing against the tube T, whereby said tube has an uninterrupted support 'or hearing throughout the full circumference thereof. Normally, the outer basin shaped surfaces of the blocks 20, 20' are in alinement, that flat face of the'dog, which face (except as 95 hereinafter described) is out of contact with the inner face of the block 20' (Fig. 1) The outer end of the dog projects out of the pocket P and into and across the space S, the free edge 10 of the dog being inclined to the axis of the wheel and bearing against the correspondingly inclined face w of the ring 11 (Fig. 1). It will be seen from this that with any upward movement of the ring 11 due to a yielding and compression of the tube T under excessive load, or as a result of impact against obstruction, the inclined face w will oscillate the dog outwardly, that isto say toward the block 20 thereby forcing Qthe latter against the tube T; and with excessive rise of the ring ll due to increased load, the dog will be forced against the outer block 20 thereby in turn likewise forcing this block against the tube T-(Fig. 8). The play of the ring 11 along the ring 5 is fa-' cilitated by the ball bearing 6 as shown. Anv rotary creeping of the ring 5 about the disk 2 is prevented by the dogs 19, the engagement of whose straight fulcrunr edges with the ledges i will prevent any rotary, motion on the part of the ring 5. It may be stated in passing that with the exception of the portions opposite the pockets P-,.the outer edges of the flanges 2' follow the "dip, of the faces w of the ring 11, thereby af- 7 fording a maximumamount of bearing sur= face between the flanges 2 and the ring 5.

The operation of the wheel may be described as follows':',The connection 'between the socket 11 and the ,head 17 is in the nature of a universal or flexible joint; the link 15 oscillating freely about the; freely in the socket t o the crown of the cover plate 7 but locked thereto ro-Z tarily. The plate 7 being bolted to the ring edges .2, and the head 17 'playin radial planes) 11 it follows that with any compression of the resilient tube '1 the yieldin section of the wheel will play freely over t e fixed section 2', a compression of the tube causing the movable section to play upward, and a subsequent expansion of the tube (due to relaxation from the pressure) causing the movable section to move downward (the resistance due .to load always acting vertically over the point where the tread of the wheel is in contact with the ground). With-a sufficient compression of the tube T, gen erally following with .a passage of the wheel over a rounh surface or obstruction the bottom dog (or that disposed momentarily in the line through which the resistance acts) will be forced first against the inner block 20, and if the compression is great, then against the outer block 20, thus forcing the blocks against the sides of the walls of the already compressed tube and compressing the latter (horizontally) to still a reater degree at the points opposite the locks, whereby the shocks incident to the vertical compression are advantageously absorbed,

the advantages of the absorption continuing with a relaxation of the compressed tube,

the blocks resuming in succession their nor- 'mal positions when the-tube 'I is relieved of the excessive pressure which forced them inward against the. tube. In thesevertical movements of the yielding section of the wheel, the link' 15 oscillates treely about the edges 6, the valve 1 V playing freely through the packing ring 8, and the dust ring 18 freely play ng over the face of the flange 2' of the disk 2. In these .inovemeauts the plate 7 freely plays over the ring G by reason of the ball bearings 72, the bearings b serving a like function between the parts 5 and 11. By virtue of the square or polygonal. connecions between the parts 14, 15,

" 17, 7, a rotation imparted to the disk 2 cover plate 7 and the yielding wheel-section 'ing preferably provided wit boss 28 from the axle A will be communicated to the of which it forms a part, as clearly obvious from the drawings. In lieu of the inflatable tube ,1", I may sub- Istitute a series of resilient devices such as coiled springs 25, the inner end of the spring being received in a socket 26 of a ring 27 deposited on the flange 2' of the disk 2, bearing against the inner face of a shock-absorblng disk Q18 26, and providing' a seat for the spring; the disk be a cylindrical about which the spring is coiled. The opposite ends of the springs. bear ainst and are supported by, a plate or disk 29 slipped over the socket 14, suitable ball bearings b" being interposed between said disk and the cover 7. This modification referred to is illustrated in Fig. 9.

In lieu of the lever or stud 15. to efiect the flexible joint betweenthe fixed and yielding sections of the wheel, I may provide the disk '2 with a central square flange 30, as shown in the modifications in Figs. 10 and 11, the diskbeilng in that case rovided with a central threadlless bossl. nserted into the chamber of the .flange 30 is a corresponding head 31 around the bossv 1', suitable rollers 32 being disposed between the outer faces of the head 31 and the inner faces of the flange. The head '31 terminates in a'steln 31 which in turn enters a head 17 in the crown of the cover plate 7, the same as in Fig. 1; In particulars not referred to in connection with the modifications in Figs. 9, 10, 11, the construction is the same as in the first and main form described, and need not be reoeated at this point. 1

Having described my invention, what I claim is y Y 1. In a vehicle-wheel, an axle, an outer tread member flexibly jointed thereto, a .re-

.sil'ient member interposed between the tread and the axis of the Wheel and disconnected from the tread member, shock-absorbing devices mounted opposite the resilient member and-engaging1the inner face of the same, and -means on t e tread member for con --trolling said devices.

chambered to pass freely 2. In a vehicle-wheel, aniinner rotatable section, an outer rotatable section having a yielding movement relatively to the inner section in lanes arallel to the plane of retation of t e whee an inflatable tube mounted on the inner section, a casing for said tube,

responding to the -yiel ing movements of the outer section and cooperating with the inflatable tube.

3. In a vehicle-wheel, an inner rotatable section, an outer rotatable section, a flexible joint connecting the sections disposed about the axis of the wheel, and permitting the plane of rotation of the wheel, a resilient member interposed bet-ween the sections, and suitable shock-absorbers mounted opposite to, and engaging the resilient member and actuated vby the yielding movement of the outer section. I

4:. In a vehicle-wheel, an inner section, anouter section jointed flexibly thereto about the axis of the wheel, an inflatable tube carried by the inner section, a tread member on the outer section, suitable shock-absorbing devices mounted opposite to, and engaging the tube, and'means responsive to move-v the outer section to yield in ments of the outer section due to fiexure of the joint for drivin the shock-absorbing devices against the tu In a vehicle-wheel, an inner section, an outer section jointed flexibly thereto about the axis of the Wheel, an inflatable tube, an inner channel ring for the tube resting on the inner section of the wheel, an outer casing for the tubecoupled to the inner channel ring, the latter being provided with openings opposite the inner peripheral Walls of the tube, suitable pockets being formed in the inner wheel section opposite said openings, an oscillatin dog in a pocket, movable blocks operating t rough the openings against the inner walls of the tube and engaged by said dogs, the latter projecting from the pockets and terminating in inclined edges, the outer wheel section being spaced from the outer edge of the inner section and rovided with inclined surfaces engaging t e inclined edges of the dogs, whereby upon a compression of the tube the dogs are successively forced against the blocks and the latter a ainst the tube and the shocks thus absorbe and a tread member on the outer wheel section.

6. In a vehicle-wheel rovided with a resilient member a ring or supporting said member,a trea supporting member for said A wheel,movable blocks engaging said resilient member, and devices opposite the resilient member actuated by the movements of the tread-supporting member across the axis of rotation of the wheel for forcing said de- 'vices against the blocks andthe latter against the resilient member for the purpose set forth 7. In combination with a shaft, an inner wheel section secured thereto, an axially disposed socket secured to said wheel-section,

said socket terminatin in a bottom having a square opening provi ed with a continuous knife-edge between opposite .faces of the said socket bottom, a link having a square shank inserted in said opening, a rounded head gripping the outer end of the link, an outer cover plate having a central rounded crown formation receiving said head and rotarily locked thereto, but allowing bein the head to freely play therein in planes cutting across the plane of rotation of the wheel, an inner channel ring on the 1nner wheel section, an outer channel ring secured thereto, an inflatable tube incased between the rings, a rin coupled to the outer cover plate and s ace from the outer edges of the inner whee -section, and provided with a free face inclined to the axis of the wheel, oscillatable dogs engaging the inner channel ring, the inner wheel section being providedwith pockets for receiving the dogs, the latter projectin out of said pockets and terminating in inc ined or bevel ends engaging the inclined face of the ring coupled to the cover plate, the cover plate and its n testimony whereof I afiix my signature, presence of two witnesses.

OSCAR SOLEB.

Witnesses:

EMIL STAREK Fanm E. W 

